The battle against sexual violence will likely suffer if the United Nations peacekeeping force pulls out from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict Margot Wallstrom warns. DR Congo authorities are pushing for an end to the UN mission. The country’s laws on sexual violence are poorly implemented, and thousands of rapes are committed with impunity every year.
Malaria-control funding brings results
A tenfold hike in anti-malaria funding across the African continent since 2004 has dramatically cut the disease’s rate of progress. A joint study by UNICEF and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership found that 2010 levels for anti-malaria funding still fall short of the $6 billion needed to implement malaria inventions throughout Africa. The report says that sustained and reliable development is necessary for African countries, particularly south of the Sahara, to make progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.
“American Idol” David Cook speaks out for Ethiopian girls
“American Idol” winner David Cook, who traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Idol Gives Back program, told reporters that UN programs were making a significant difference for Ethiopian girls, but there’s still a long way to go. The UN Foundation’s Elizabeth Gore said she hoped the event would inspire Americans to give. “Something we take for granted at home — $5 — can actually mean changing a girl’s life and allowing her to go to school,” Gore said.
More mobile phones than toilets in India
The disparity between access to mobile telephones and toilets points toward a dangerous trend for India, according to a new report from the Institute for Water, Environment and Health at the United Nations University. Mobile subscriptions reach about half of India’s 1.2 billion people, while only about a third have access to a toilet. Improved sanitation “could do more to save lives, especially those of young people, improve health and help pull India and other countries in similar circumstances out of poverty than any alternative investment,” UN University director Zafar Adeel said.
Maternal mortality drops worldwide
The numbers of women dying during pregnancy or childbirth worldwide have dropped from a half a million a year in 1980 to about 350,000 in 2008, according a study published in the medical journal The Lancet that reviewed maternal mortality data from 181 countries. Countries including China, Bolivia and Egypt have made significant gains in cutting maternal mortality rates. As of 2008, the majority of maternal deaths occurred in six countries: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Still, India is among the countries that has sharply cut its incidence of maternal mortality over the period of the study. Researchers credit a combination of increased access to qualified birth attendants and rising income levels.
Divisions arise over push for adoptions from Haiti
Logistical challenges and potentially bitter disputes lie ahead as passionate advocates of adoption press for changes that might enable thousands of Haitian children affected by the earthquake to be placed in U.S. homes.
Controversy arises as a family returns their adopted Russian son out of fear
The president of Russia is calling it a “monstrous deed” – the decision by a Tennessee woman to send her adopted son back to his homeland, alone. Now authorities in are investigating the actions of Torry and Nancy Hansen, the adoptive mother and grandmother of 7-year-old Artyom Savelyev.
Was Munich’s Vicar General Forced to Serve as Ratzinger’s Scapegoat?
Catholic Church officials assigned full responsibility for the
reassignment of a known pedophilic priest to retired vicar general
Gerhard Gruber who served as deputy to Joseph Ratzinger when he was
archbishop. Gruber is now challenging a Church statement that he “acted
on his own authority,” a claim he says was never discussed with him.
Charged with sexual assault in U.S., priest continues work in India
A Catholic priest who has been criminally charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Minnesota six years ago is still working in his home diocese in despite warnings to the from an American bishop that the priest continued to pose a risk to children, according to church documents made public on Monday.